Sixty One

The hospital lights were too bright.Too sharp.Everything felt too loud, too fast, too overwhelming.Voices moved around me.Doctors.Nurses.Instructions being thrown back and forth like I wasn’t the center of it.Like I wasn’t the one breaking apart on that bed.“Breathe, Fiona.”I tried.God, I tried.But every breath felt shallow.Every second stretched too long.Pain tore through me again, stronger than the last.I gripped the side of the bed, my knuckles turning white.“I can’t,” I gasped.“Yes, you can,” a nurse said firmly. “You’re doing well.”It didn’t feel like it.It felt like everything was slipping.Like I was losing control of my own body.“Where’s the father?” someone asked.“On his way,” another voice replied.My eyes snapped open.“No.”The word came out sharper than I expected.The room stilled for half a second.“He’s been informed,” the doctor said calmly.“I said no,” I repeated, my voice shaking now. “I don’t want him here.”A pause.Professional.Measured.“We

Sixty Two

The morning felt quieter than the night before.Like everything had already happened, and now all that was left was to sit in it.Haven stirred softly in my arms, her tiny fingers curling instinctively against my skin.I watched her for a moment.Memorizing her.Grounding myself in something that didn’t shift.Didn’t lie.Didn’t hurt.A soft knock sounded at the door.I didn’t need to look up.“Come in.”Flavian stepped in slowly.Careful.Like he was aware of every movement he made around me now.He stopped a few steps away.Not too close.Not too far.“How are you feeling?” he asked.“I’m fine.”It wasn’t entirely true.But it was enough.His gaze dropped to Haven.Softening immediately.“She slept?” he asked.“On and off.”A small pause.Then silence.Because we both knew why he was here.And neither of us was pretending otherwise.“Fiona,” he started.I looked up at him.Not angry.Not emotional.Just… steady.“I need you to listen to me.”I didn’t respond.Didn’t encourage it.Bu

Sixty Three

I didn’t touch the messages.Not that night.Not the next morning either.I saw them.Every time my phone lit up.Every time his name appeared across the screen.But I didn’t open them.Because opening them meant listening.And listening meant giving space to something I wasn’t ready to question.Not yet.Haven stirred softly inside her bassinet, her tiny movements pulling me out of my thoughts.I adjusted her blanket instinctively, my hand lingering just a second longer than necessary.She was calm.Unaffected.Unaware.And somehow that made everything feel heavier.Because the world could fall apart around meAnd she would still sleep peacefully through it.A knock sounded at the door.Light.Measured.“Fiona,” my grandmother called softly. “You have a visitor.”My chest tightened slightly.I didn’t ask who.I already knew.“I’m coming,” I replied.He was in the living room.Standing.Not sitting.Not comfortable.Like he didn’t belong here.Like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to.Fo

Sixty Four

I didn’t sleep.Not after the message.Not after the image.I replayed it over and over again in my head until it stopped feeling like something I saw and started feeling like something I understood.The angle.The distance.The clarity.That wasn’t something taken by chance.That was taken by someone who knew exactly what they were doing.Someone inside the house.My fingers tightened slightly around my phone.Because nowThere was no doubt.Not about what happened.Not about what I saw.Not about what I had believed.Flavian didn’t touch her.He was pushing her away.And I had walked outCertain.Certain that everything I had was gone.A quiet knock sounded at the door.I didn’t move immediately.“Fiona,” my grandmother called softly. “He’s back.”Of course he was.I exhaled slowly.Then stood.Carefully adjusting Haven in her crib before stepping out.He was waiting in the living room again.But this timeHe didn’t look like someone asking.He looked like someone finishing something

Sixty Six

“They’ve been arrested.”The words didn’t register immediately.They hung there.Suspended.Like my mind needed a second longer to catch up to what my ears had just heard.“What?” I asked.Flavian didn’t move closer.Didn’t rush to explain.He just stood there.Controlled.Careful.Like he understood that every word from here mattered.“There’s been a report,” he said. “A

Epilogue

Sunlight filtered softly through the curtains, spilling into the room in slow, golden streaks. For a moment, I stayed still. Listening. A quiet laugh drifted in from down the hall. Then another. Lighter. Smaller. Haven. I smiled before I even opened my eyes. Because that sound That sound still felt like a miracle. “Mom!”

All Chapters of Dangerously mine: Chapter 61 - Chapter 67